Austin's Halloween Party

Austin's 2nd grade Halloween party was a lot more work (for him) than Karsen's was for her, but was just as nice.

The kids all had to give a book report and dress as their favorite character from the book. Austin chose "Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch." He wore a baseball cap, a detective-looking blazer, and carried a magnifying glass. The class chose some very fun characters: Amelia Bedelia, Fancy Nancy, Laura Ingalls, and Andrew was even the Magic School Bus.

I took pictures of all the kids in their costumes and Cooper's grandma printed them off on a photo printer. We helped the kids glue leaves onto a foam frame and put their costume pictures in them, with a magnet on the back so they can stick on the refrigerator.
Then we ate--the most fun part!

Then we played fall bingo.
Happy Halloween from Austin!

Karsen's Halloween Party

Pardon Austin's frightened face in the picture above! Karsen had her kindergarten Halloween party this morning at school. The kids were to dress up as nursery rhyme or fairy tale characters. Karsen was "Jill" complete with gray dust/bruising on her face, a black eye, and bandages on her knees from rolling down the hill. She carried a pail. Her bestest Graham was "Jack." See picture below.

Graham didn't really want to wear the bandage, but they looked so cute...I'm glad he did. The class did a great job with creative costumes. There were princesses, fairies, Goldilocks and three (teddy) bears, the Big Bad Wolf, a knight (All the Kings' Men from Humpty Dumpty), and three adorable blind mice.Jack and Jill, definitely looking dazed.

The kids got to parade around the school, then played some games and activities in small groups in the classroom. We played throw the ball into the bucket, Fairy Tale bingo, Spooky numbers, and made a pumpkin house out of construction paper.

Karsen loved the bucket and ball game.

Waiting their turn for the game.
Then the class enjoyed Halloween treats: apple cider, popcorn balls, applesauce, party mix, and cupcakes. Here are Karsen and Ellen (Goldilocks) having their snack.
Happy Halloween from Karsen!

Mr. October

Today, Austin was chosen as the Westwood Life Skill Award Winner for October for 2nd grade! This month's life skill is gratitude. He said Mrs. Underwood said he was chosen because he is so polite and thankful, and does his work without complaining. He was very excited to add the award to his scrapbook.
I am completely thankful that Austin has such a positive outlook and that his gratitude shines through!

Also, we may have to consider getting Karsen a phone for Christmas (just kidding, grandparents!). But she has been talking to a few friends from school on the phone lately, which is much different than the boy conversations I am used to with Austin and his friends. The boy conversations are usually, "Ask your mom if you can come play.(Pause) Okay, we'll pick you up in an hour."

Girl conversation: "What are you doing? (Pause) I'm eating spaghetti. (Pause) Maybe I'll have a cookie for dessert. (Pause) Ask your mom if you can have dessert. (Pause) [Gets off phone to tell me Carrington is having dessert later]. Are you going to ask for a My Little Pony shop for Christmas? (Pause) Ask your mom if you can have a My Little Pony shop for Christmas. [Gets off phone to tell me Carrington is asking her mom for a My Little Pony shop for Christmas, too.]
So while it is nice that I know everything they are discussing, the conversations do tend to drag on. Also, I have discovered, Karsen doesn't much seem to mind who she is talking to. The other day, after a few minutes into the conversation I heard her suddenly yell, "WHO ARE YOU?" I knew who it was from the caller I.D., but apparently Karsen thought she was talking to her friend Kate--but it wasn't Kate. Oh well, she has plenty of opportunities to work on her phone etiquette.

Leaves and more leaves

Our Cub Scout service project went well yesterday afternoon. About 8 boys and their parents (and Karsen) braved the rainy conditions and raked the leaves at the Henry County Historical Society museum. They have many more trees than I realized...but the boys did put a pretty big dent in the amount they have left on the ground. Karsen also came along and was very helpful. The historical society lady in charge was also eager to show us the silent movie about Catherine Winters, a little girl who disappeared in New Castle in the early 1900's. The boys did as well as they could with the movie, but since it is, well, silent, it didn't hold their attention for too long. By then it was time to "make like trees and leave" (raking humor there ;) anyway.

We are also excited for the Nelson family this week (one of Austin's best friends, Drew) because their dad is home for two weeks on leave from Iraq. When we stopped in yesterday, Austin ran right in and said, "I am SO glad you are home!!!" Jim said it just made his day, although he has a permanent smile on his face just being home with Katy and his boys for a few days.

We're gearing up for the fall parties and trick-or-treating later this week. Josh will be on picture taking duty for trick-or-treat, since I'll be at work. If the Great Pumpkin grants wishes on Halloween night, maybe my night at work will be really, really easy!!

Bragging on the Kids

Skip this post if you don't want to hear this proud mommy brag about Austin and Karsen. They are both doing SO WELL in school. Karsen got all "S" (satisfactory) on her report card and Miss Beth gave me a glowing report. She said she is very kind and popular with her classmates. Austin gets percentages in his grade, and received 100% in every subject except science, which was a 97. We have worked very hard this week on his first oral book report to be given on Friday.Last week was fall break. On Thursday the kids had a play date with Emily, Kate, and Drew, the children of my friend Lisa. On Saturday they took a sleepover and went to Grandma and Papa Beneker's church Halloween party. Here is Karsen showing off her ark full of stuffed toys. The kids were Noah and his wife, complete with rain ponchos.

Tonight the boys had an outdoor activity at the Glovers house for Cub Scouts. They did physical activities and exercises, then cooked popcorn and smores over the fire. They also practiced their flag raising skills on the makeshift flag pole. After it got dark, there was a rousing game of kickball. Nothing like a good kickball game with the ball whizzing by your face in the pitch black. After some arguments as to fair/foul balls, safe/out at home...the game was called. I had a great time checking out the nursery Jennifer has been so hard at work with for their new baby coming soon.
We have a busy week coming up with Halloween festivities and a Cub Scout service project tomorrow evening, so stay tuned!

Field trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend was a busy one. Thank goodness Josh is now off on Saturdays to enjoy the fun! On Saturday morning Austin had his last soccer game of the fall. Here are some pictures of the team congratulating their opponents and of Austin receiving his medal.

Then Austin and I went to Walmart to sell popcorn for Cub Scouts. Austin, Drew, and Andrew will excellent and super-polite salesmen. Everyone got a "Have a nice day" whether they purchased or not. Drew insisted that he was feeling shy so he helped me with inventory control while the other boys approached the potential customers.
When we got home, it was time for Austin and Karsen to go to Escapades in Muncie for Graham's birthday party. Josh picked Austin up in the evening from the party and Karsen got to spend the night at the Milligans because Graham got to pick one special friend for a sleepover.
On Monday, Karsen's class took a field trip to Smith's Family Farm in Pendleton. It is a working farm that also gives tours. They grow a lot of corn, have a nice pumpkin patch that the kids got to pick a small pumpkin from, have a barn of animals, a playground, and a hay ride. We had a beautiful day to go, a little on the cool side and windy, but it was great fun.

Karsen and Ashlynn (the girls in my group) having fun on the bus ride over.Although Ellen was in her grandma's group, that didn't stop Karsen and Ellen from having lots of fun together on the hay ride.
Finding our way out of the corn maze.

Graham checking out the goats.Another highlight of the trip: Rylan's dad pulled the girls in a pumpkin cart around the pumpkin patch.Happy Fall!

Austin in Action

Last night Austin had a very exciting game. No, they didn't win yet (with one game to go) but they only lost 2-0 and in the last quarter took about 15 shots on goal. The blue team goalie was incredible, but the our black team hung tough but couldn't quite break through to score. Austin was forward during this exciting time so he was a big part of the action. Here are some action shots.

He has also come up with some interesting conversation topics lately. Last night he told me he wants to stay home with me and daddy forever and not get married. Apparently, he is super worried about kissing in public and will not have a wedding if it is a requirement to kiss at the end. Ew, the grossest thing in the world to an 8 year old boy. He can't stand the endless parade of Karsen's princess movies in which the princess receives true love's kiss at the end.

I had another fun time helping in Karsen's class today. I took small groups into the teacher's workroom to plant some grass in cups. The class is talking about what plants need to grow and so we planted grass seeds in potting soil and watered them carefully. The girls were more interested in decorating their cups, but we may have some little gardeners in the group. While the small groups were working, Miss Beth had the rest of the class create individual pictures of a corn seed growing into a stalk of corn. Karsen was very proud of hers.
Another important event occurred today. Austin lost his sixth tooth. Here is the proud owner of a new hole in his mouth.
Sorry, it is still a little bloody in the picture but he wanted to show daddy how brave he was. Even though Josh was at work he still knew all about it through e-mail...technology is so great!

And here is a picture of part of our nightly routine. Austin has been reading Karsen a story before she gets in bed and then I read her one more story when she is actually in bed. He has really such a great big brother, and I think this makes her actually want to learn to read because she wants to make him proud.
Austin also wants to spread the word that he would like a nickname, and he wants it to be "Ace."
Definitely sounds like a baseball player (or a blackjack dealer).

Not Too Much To Report...

Well, the days have been flying by, and we've been busy with school, Austin's soccer, and working. I am a room mother for both kids' classes at Westwood so I've been making a lot of phone calls begging, I mean politely asking, for help with Fall Festival and fall parties. Josh has a new schedule for those who don't know, which is starting today: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays all day. How awesome that he has a four day weekend every week!

Austin is being inundated with school projects and tests, but he is like an old pro and takes everything in stride. Karsen is working hard on her ABC's, and is excited to report that she is now allowed to check out her own books at the school library because she has proved to be responsible enough. Her first selection was "Mercy Watson To the Rescue", which we already own. Apparently, if Austin owns the book, she feels that she must check it out from the library so as not to have to go into Austin's room to get it.

Austin did have a cool Cub Scout meeting last night. They learned how to properly raise, lower, and fold the flag by a very nice gentleman from the American Legion. We had our own outdoor flag ceremony, and there is a chance the pack will be allowed to raise and lower the school flag on Veterans' Day since they have learned the proper way.

Last weekend was also our little niece Kalli's first birthday! It is so hard to believe she is 1, and the kids had a great time at her party with Taylor and Andrew. Thanks Katie for having them, and also thanks to Grandma and Papa Hall for taking them while Josh and I had to work.

I guess I had more to report than I thought...it must be like when I ask Austin and Karsen what they have done in school today and they say, "Nothing, " or "Not very much," but then they talk about it all evening long.

Karsen would like to share a message for everyone: "I love you. I like you to be my aunts. And I really like when people come sleep over."

Walk to School Day

Today was Walk to School Day for Austin and Karsen. Josh and I always take them to school in the mornings because if they rode the bus, they would have to leave around 7:20. Since school is 5 minutes away, if we drive them we don't have to leave until about 7:50. This 1/2 hour may not sound like much, but it is nice to let them sleep a few minutes later. Today, Walk to School Day, they were to meet at the Westwood Golf Club (maybe about 3/4 to 1 mile from school) to walk with their principal to Westwood. They had to meet there at 7:15, a little earlier than usual and although they insist they are not tired, here is a picture of Austin taking it easy this afternoon.

He had a very wet and rainy game last night at soccer. My umbrella actually broke in two from the strong winds. He played 3 quarters, though, and they only lost 3-1. This is a big improvement from their normal blowout losses. Despite, or maybe because of, the slippery and muddy conditions he had a great time and had a nice hot shower and bowl of soup when he got home.

I helped out in Karsen's room at school again today. We worked on rhymes with a small group game. Some have no idea about the concept of rhymes, even though we talked extensively about it, and when I would hold a picture of, for instance, a tree, and ask what words they can think of to rhyme with tree they would shout, "Leaf!" or "Football." Some know their rhymes quite well. When I held up the picture of the shell, Graham (who is always prepared, and ever the good Methodist) yelled, "Hell!" They are mostly very sweet and eager to please. One of Karsen's friends, Payton, gave me a Hershey's Kiss before I left.

Karsen's Last Fall Soccer Game

Karsen's last game of fall soccer was today. They played a tough team, the Lime Greens. And still she scored, and played tough in the goalie. Great job Karsen!!Next spring she will move up to the 6/7 year old league, back to her fave coach Ben's team. But for now, until Ashton is a little older, we have to say goodbye to another excellent coach Tyrone (Ashton's dad).

Here is her cute team all ready for their medals and goodie bags!
And her littlest cheerleaders...

















Austin had a great game as well, almost scored twice with both bouncing off of the goal post. SO CLOSE!!! You could hear his cries of agony across the field.
He got over it quickly though, because he and his Cub Scout buddies were headed to the Circuit of Fun at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to try their hand at some archery, BB guns, marshmallow shooting, etc at the Cub Scout Fun Day.
He has four games left so more to come on his soccer improvements.

And I will leave you with a picture of the two creatures that I ran into yesterday after kindergarten class...Karsen and Graham.
Feel better soon, uncle Ken! We missed you today, but thought you should know that we taught auntie Erin an important lesson. Never encourage your nephews and niece to share lollipops after they have been opened. It seems she did not know this was frowned upon.
And uncle Keith, we missed you, too. Say the word, and I'm sure it can be arranged for Luke to be wearing a Favre jersey this Christmas from his aunt and uncle Santas.